Disinfecting hen&#39;s nest



April 0 1929- c. P. BETTENGA 1,711,107

DIS INFEC'IING HEN S NEST Filed April v, 1927 glwwmtoz Creno Z. EatangaPatented Apr. 30, 1929.

UNITED STATES CRENO P. BETTEN GA, OF MARSHALLTOWN IOWA.

DISINFECTING HENS NEST.

Application filed April 7, 1927. Serial No. 1815800.

My invention relates to improvements in disinfecting hens nests, and theobjects of my improvements are first, to provide a disssemblable housingfor a nest having a pertal shaped to prevent roosting of a fowl thereon,and second, to supply as an adjunct of the detachable bottom of thehousing a removable container for a volatilizable repellent compositionfor repelling insects, and which also may serve the purpose of anartificial nest egg under a setting hen.

Other improvements will be referred to in the following description andthe appended claims.

In the annexed drawings, Fig. 1 1s a perspective view of my improvedhens nestas suspended on a fixed support. Fig. 2 1s a verticallongitudinal section of the same on an enlarged scale, and Fig. 3 is adetail perspective view of the detachable bottom of the device includingthe repellent holder.

The numeral 7 denotes a wall or other erect supporting structure. and onwhich the nest housing is suspended spaced from the ground or floorbelow. The housing 1s composed of sections, connected by sllp oints andsecured together thus to be disassemblable for storage or transportationin little compass or volume, which is important, as transportationcharges are commonly based on volume rather than on the weight of thearticles carried. The housing has a top plate 3 inclined it'orwardly toshed rain as also to preventroosting of fowls thereon. This plate hascomatiug reversed marginal edges 4i at front and sides to receiveoutlui'ncd marginal. parts slidably and separably of the two side wallplates 2. The housing has no back-plate, and has an open bottom to beclosed by a detachable bottom closure to be described.

Aportured hanger-bars 5 are bolted to the rear upper part of saidhousing to be removably suspended upon headed pins or screws l3 fined inthe wall 7. A crossbar 18 is fastened across the back of the housingspaced from its lower end. 0

The front plate or wall 1 of the housmg 1S slidably marginally connectedto the abutting outturned edges of the side plates 2 1n the same manneras at 4 to the top plate 3, all stiffened also by having outturnedmarginal edges where not so slidably connected.

The front plate 1 has an open portal 8 whose threshold 10 has a medialupwardly directed projecting part 9. Spaced in parallel from the frontplate at a level with said threshold is a step bracket-bar 12 fixed tothe forward ends of side arms 11, the latter medially pivoted to theside walls 2 on pintles 13, and having their rear ends stopped fromupward movement from the horizontal by projecting bolt ends 14: in saidsidewalls. The medial projection 9 with sloping side edges is only highenough to prevent the roosting of a fowl on the threshold 10, withoutpreventing the fowl from passing to and fro through the portal from orto the ste bracket 12, the side portions of the threshold 10 being wideenough to afford support for the fowls feet on either side of saidproection. i

I have supplied a detachable bottom for said housing, particularly shownin Figs. 2 and 3. This is an elastic metal plate 15 haw ing a number ofspaced transverse crimps 19 directed upwardly, which crimps render theplate hingedly bendable between the crimps so as to be shaped into asegment of a hollow cylinder with concavity directed upwardly as ahollow nest, and having sep arated side edge projections 15 directedupwardly spaced from theabuttinginner side walls of the housing toprovide ventilating openings. The rear marginal edge .of the. plate 15is hooked over at 17 to be suspended on the rear crossbar 18 detachably,while the forward edge of the plate is provided with spaced hooked parts16 to be supported upon the lower threshold parts 10.

The numeral 20 denotes an open end container for a filling 26, which maybe a porous material impregnated with a repellent substance which willbe readily volatilizable by a moderate heat suchas that of a hen in saidnest sitting across the container, in which relation the containerserves the further function of a medial artificial nestegg. Thecontainer may be of any other suitable shape and size, the one shownhaving been thoroughly and successfully used in practice. The containershownis in the shape of an elongated trough 20 of inverted Ushape,- andmay have end projections 22 bent downwardly to prevent escape of thefilling material 26. Small apertures 23 are provided along the top ofthe container for exudation of the volatile fumes from the repellentsublUl) stance therein when warmed by the heat of i the hens body, whichapproximates 104 degrees F. These fumes repel or kill mites or otherVermin which commonly infect or penetrate the hens leathers and down.

The container 20 may be secured to the bottom plate 15 by bolts and nuts24. and 35, or in any other desired. manner, and the side walls of hecontainer may be notched at 21 to receive a raised crimp l9, dividingthe middle of the nest into shallow compartments to re. e a layer atsoil with a top dressing of raw or the like, but the top of thecontainer should be raised above the tops of the crimps tor the purposeof an artilicial nest egg, touching the body of a hen setting on thenest above the container.

The bottom 15 may be readily detached from the housing for cleansing andreturn. It should be noted that the curved segmental bottom 15with itscrimps 19 is so elastically bendable between said. crimps, that when thehousing parts are disassembled for shipping or storage, the bottom 15may be bent over flatly to be piled in a tier with the other wallplates, in a small low compact bundle and secured together in a minimumspace. When taken from the bundle, the bottom 15 will elastically reactto resume former curvate shape ready for use. its so shaped and arrangedany number of these nests may I c positioned in horizontal or superposedrows suspended on a wall, for convenient and economical employment.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Let ters Patent, is:

it. A device of the character described, comprising in combination, top,front, side and bottom members dctachably connected in a hollowknockdown housing structure, one of said members having a portal whosethreshold has a medial raised projection which prevents a towl fromroosting on the threshold with horizontal top and sloping sides meetinghorizontal parts.

A device of the character described, con- .ing of a hollow housing onewall of which has a portal with the middle part only of its thresholdraised with horizontal top spaced high enough to prevent the roosting ofa fowl on the threshold, ,while atl'ording side foot-holds for the fowlto step upon securely.

3. A device of the character described, com prising a hollow housinghaving a portal and a rcmovably connected concave bottom closure, saidclosure being an elastic transversely crimped plate with its crimpsdirected upwardly and which plate reacts to be planar when disassembled.

A. device of the character described, comprising a hollow housing havinga pertal and a removably connected bottom closure spaced from the sidewalls only ot the housing and having separable coimections at front andrear to the housing, said closure being an i.ip .'-ai'dly concavedtl'tlE1H\'Ul'H(!- ly crimped elastic plate which reacts to a planarshape when di:-.as:--embh-1t.

A device of the character described, conn rising a hollow housing havinga portal and having an open bottom, a closure for said open bottomdetachably end con nected to the housing and spaced from its side wallsonly, and a medial longitudinal elongated. hollow apertured inverted Ushaped receptacle for an insect repellent composition volatiliz ble byheat and removably secured on said closure to also serve as a simulateddevice.

(3. A device of the character described, connirising a hollow housinghaving a front portal, said housing having a debu-bably connectedlJOtitOll'l closure shaped from an elastic plate with raised transversecrimps and edge projections spaced from the adjacent side walls of thehousing, and said closure also being shaped as a segment ot a cylinderwhen. elastically bent between the crimps, and when disassembled as aplanar body.

7. A device of the character described, comprising a ported housinghaving a detachable bottom closure, said closure being concavedcylimlrically upwardly, and an iiiverted Uehape container for arepellent cmnposition, having top apertures and open ends, anddetzu-hably SW'lll'Wl n'iediallv lon gitudinall along said closure toalso serve tor nest c purposes for a setting :Iowl bestriding Intestimony whereof I allix my signature.

GRENU P. BETTENGA.

